E-Commerce Morning Brief: Douyin's Total User Time Surpassed WeChat for the First Time in July; Dreame Responds to Abandonment of Mass Vehicle Production

News Item 1: Dreame responds to abandonment of mass vehicle production

Dreame Technology has officially responded to changes in its car manufacturing business, confirming the termination of the "Starry Sky Project" mass vehicle production project. The entire automotive business will be integrated into its industrial research institute, with only underlying technology reserves such as motors and chassis control retained, and commercial mass production will no longer be pursued. Relevant technologies will be repurposed for core tracks including smart mobility and embodied intelligence. This adjustment is an active strategic correction by the company. Dreame has consolidated its previous more than 200 business units into four core business segments: smart home, outdoor courtyard, smart mobility, and embodied intelligence. It has simultaneously scaled back and shut down overlapping businesses under the MOVA brand, mobile phones and multiple cross-border incubation projects, to concentrate resources on consolidating its core businesses. Dreame stated that it will properly handle supplier contracts and payment matters, and has established a special processing mechanism.

This adjustment aims to optimize resource allocation and reduce consumption caused by diversified expansion. However, issues such as subsequent supply chain recovery and internal organizational alignment remain to be resolved, and the effectiveness of the transformation is subject to market validation.

News Item 2: Nestlé sells 7 health supplement brands for $1 billion

On September 2, Nestlé Group announced the sale of its mainstream vitamin, mineral and supplement (VMS) business, which covers 7 brands, for $1 billion. According to the announcement, the transaction involves seven established brands: Nature's Bounty, Osteo Bi-Flex, Ester-C, Gard, Nuun, Puritan's Pride and Sisu, as well as related U.S. private label supplement businesses, plus exclusive manufacturing, packaging, warehousing and distribution operation facilities. The business is mainly located in the United States, and also has a presence in multiple countries including Canada and China. The transaction is subject to approval from relevant regulatory authorities and is expected to be completed in the first half of 2027. The acquirer is Yellow Wood Partners, a Boston-based U.S. private equity firm focused on the consumer industry.

News Item 3: Mercado Libre launches live shopping feature

Recently, Mercado Libre officially launched its in-app live streaming feature Mercado Libre Live, allowing consumers to watch live streams, learn about products and complete purchases directly without leaving the live page. The new feature is open to sellers, affiliate marketers and content creators, and has been integrated into Mercado Libre's existing social e-commerce system, further combining with short videos, product recommendations and partner content. Currently, more than 9 million people across Latin America have participated in Mercado Libre's affiliate marketer and creator program. According to Mercado Libre data, in the second quarter of 2026 alone, orders generated through the program in Brazil reached 208 per minute.

News Item 4: Amazon GWD Ningbo warehouse officially launches, three-warehouse layout manages U.S. line restocking

Amazon's Global Warehouse & Distribution (GWD) recently officially opened its Ningbo sorting center, which, together with the existing Shanghai and Shenzhen warehouses, forms a triangular layout enabling nearby warehousing access in the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta regions. The storage fee for the Ningbo warehouse is set at $7.91 per CBM per month, the lowest among the three warehouses, representing an approximately 10% reduction from the $8.79 rate of the Shanghai and Shenzhen warehouses. Sellers only need to ship goods to the domestic sorting center, and customs declaration and clearance, cross-border transportation, and automated FBA restocking are fully managed by Amazon, which will allocate goods to U.S. operation centers on demand based on sales data. Products can still be sold normally during front-end out-of-stock periods, with no limits on shipment quantity, no peak season surcharges, and no long-term commitments. Combined with the 30-day free storage policy for goods warehoused before December 31, GWD has realized a full-link domestic warehouse operation model of Chinese stocking - automated FBA restocking - continuous inventory availability.

News Item 5: Douyin's total user time surpassed WeChat for the first time in July, Hongguo Short Drama's DAU doubled

Nomura Securities' monthly China internet tracking report (July) shows that Douyin's share of total user time surpassed WeChat for the first time in July. Among them, Douyin's monthly usage time increased by 29% year-on-year, while WeChat's grew by 3%. However, in terms of daily active users (DAU), WeChat remains the largest app in China, with a DAU of 931 million, compared to Douyin's 714 million. Douyin's DAU grew by 19% in July, and its daily time spent per user (DTSD) increased by 8%.

Among the top 20 apps by monthly internet usage time, five apps owned by Douyin Group (Douyin, Douyin Express Edition, Hongguo Short Drama, Jinri Toutiao, Tomato Free Novel) collectively account for more than 35% of China's mobile internet time share.

The core dark horse driving ByteDance's time growth is Hongguo Free Short Drama. Currently, Hongguo Short Drama has a DAU of 168 million, up 107% year-on-year, which has exceeded the combined DAU of the four major long-video platforms. Meanwhile, the monthly usage time of long-video platforms such as iQiyi, Tencent Video, Youku and Mango TV all declined, with drops ranging from 24% to 47%.

News Item 6: Goodme updates franchise policy: franchise fees are charged annually, and store closures within six months are eligible for a 50,000-yuan subsidy

Goodme has released its latest franchise policy, with the following specific adjustments:

The franchise fee model has been changed. For new stores signed after September 1, the one-time franchise fee of 98,800 yuan will no longer be charged, replaced by an annual fee of 15,000 yuan to reduce large upfront capital occupation.

Interest-free installment plans are available for equipment: for coffee machines or designated full sets of initial equipment, a 65% down payment is required, with the remaining 35% paid off in 24 interest-free monthly installments starting from the following month.

Store closure subsidies have been increased: under the premise that equipment is resold by the company or transferred with official filing, a 50,000-yuan subsidy will be provided for stores that close within six months of signing; a 35,000-yuan subsidy will be provided for stores that close after six months but within one year. The brand still requires franchisees to operate the stores in person, rejecting pure investment-oriented franchisees.

Second-hand equipment regulations have been standardized: only second-hand equipment traded through company brokering, transferred between franchisees and approved by the official authority is allowed to be used in stores. Second-hand equipment from other external channels is prohibited, and no intelligent equipment binding service will be provided for such equipment, to avoid failures that affect product quality.

News Item 7: WeChat conducts gray-scale testing of new "miss-prevention" features

Recently, the new version of WeChat has added two features. First, if there are unread messages in WeChat, long-pressing the "WeChat" icon in the lower left corner allows users to view all current unread chats. It is reported that this feature is currently in gray-scale testing. Second, if there are unclaimed red envelopes and transfers in a chat, a "Red Envelope" or "Transfer" reminder will appear in the upper right corner of the chat box.

That's all for today's morning brief. For more e-commerce knowledge and content, please stay tuned to Ebrun audio news.

This article was first published on the official website of Ebrun.